Yerim visited Kim Donghu’s ho with the intention of making him breakfast.
So why had Sujin shown up at his place?
The reason was surprisingly simple.
"Because I just want to see him!"
She had a guy she liked. They were close enough for their parents to know each other. She even knew where he lived.
"Then it’s only natural to et for no particular reason, right?"
It’s sothing you often see in romantic codies. And the setup was perfect.
"Childhood friends are supposed to wake each other up in the morning, aren’t they?"
It was a classic—almost a cliché—but a golden rule of storytelling nonetheless.
The female childhood friend waking the male protagonist from his late slumber—a textbook example of perfect harmony and chemistry.
So why hadn’t she done this before now?
The answer was equally simple.
"Because I’ve been busy!"
Kim Donghu had been swamped with movie shoots, and Sujin had been equally tied up with dramas, magazine interviews, and steadily building her presence in the entertainnt world.
Their packed schedules had left no room to et.
But then—
"Like fate itself!"
The new school sester gave them both so free ti. And as a childhood friend, Sujin wasn’t about to let such an opportunity slip by.
That was why she ca rushing over—to fulfill the role of the childhood friend who wakes Donghu up in the morning.
But then—
"And who might you be?"
She encountered soone unexpected. A scenario she had never once anticipated.
"Ha."
What’s more, the stranger didn’t look like this was their first ti visiting.
"There’s no awkwardness. It feels natural—like it’s routine for her."
If she was bringing groceries, that ant this wasn’t her first or second visit—probably at least five tis.
"A lot has been happening behind my back, hasn’t it?"
Sujin closed her eyes for a mont, pondering what to do.
Should she remind this stranger of the chemistry she shared with Donghu during Rushman!?
Should she describe how her “kyu-kyu” mont froze Donghu in place?
Or should she recount their long history as childhood friends and how well they knew each other?
"No, no, there’s no need for that."
Overreacting in this situation would only make her look bad. Sujin steadied herself.
"Calm down."
She resolved to handle this maturely, explaining her role and relationship with Donghu kindly and politely.
"You’ve completely lost your mind, haven’t you?"
She failed.
Yerim and Sujin didn’t exactly hit it off from the start.
Since they were both connected to the sa person they liked, it was hard for the interaction to flow smoothly.
"Excuse ? What do you an, I’ve lost my mind?"
"Does this situation seem normal to you?"
"Donghu said it was fine."
"Donghu said it was fine?"
"Yes."
"Kim Donghu, you’re dead after this. No, you’re just dead."
"Kim Donghu, you’re insane! Letting this happen?"
Sujin made up her mind.
"I won’t forgive you!"
She was determined to confront that clueless idiot, who was sleeping without a care in the world, and give him a piece of her mind.
But that would have to wait. Right now, she had to deal with the matter at hand.
"This ti, I’ll explain kindly. Very kindly."
As she tried to calm herself again—
"It’s a bit awkward to talk outside, so shall we go in?"
"Huh? Go in?"
"Yes, just a mont."
Yerim opened the door to Donghu’s ho without hesitation.
"What?"
Unlike Sujin, who had to call to be let in, Yerim entered confidently, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Puff."
Sujin’s cheeks puffed up like a blowfish.
She might have been able to laugh off most things, treating them as trivial or funny mories in hindsight.
But not this.
Not this.
"Hey, Kim Donghu! Get out here right now!"
She couldn’t take it anymore.
So mornings are just like that.
Even with little sleep, you feel well-rested, as though the warm sunlight is wrapping you in a comforting embrace.
"Why do I feel so refreshed?"
Normally, his alarm would wake him in thirty minutes. For so reason, today he woke up early.
"It’s still winter, huh? Judging by the chill."
But why did it feel so cold? He was practically shivering.
"Should I just relax with so coffee?"
As he got out of bed, he noticed the commotion outside his room.
"No, it’s not just noise—soone’s definitely here."
There were only three possibilities for who might enter his ho at this hour unannounced.
His parents.
Yerim.
A burglar.
The first was unlikely, given they were busy raising his younger sibling. The third was physically improbable.
That left only one answer.
"Yerim?"
Was she here to cook for him again, now that they were in their second year?
With that thought, he opened the door—
"Yeah, it’s Yerim."
…and promptly shut it again.
"Hmm?"
Yerim’s recent hairstyle was a clean bob cut. But the person he just saw had twin pigtails.
"...No way."
The one person who suited twin tails better than anyone else. His childhood friend, who had been with him since preschool and starred in Cackling Doctor! alongside him.
"Sujin, you’re here?"
He opened the door again, managing his expression carefully, ready to apologize for any misunderstanding.
But—
"Looking for her first? You must see her often, huh."
Sujin’s cheeks puffed up again, resembling a blowfish.
"Puff."
"I want to poke it with my finger."
He knew he absolutely shouldn’t in this situation.
But—
"What are you doing?"
"Poking your cheek."
"Do you really think that’s appropriate, given the situation?"
"Probably not."
"Then why?"
"Because it slls nice, and it’s cute. Did you change your perfu?"
"W-What?! What nice sll?! I-I did change it, but you’re such a pervert!"
Flustered, Sujin swatted his hand away. With that, the puff in her cheeks was gone.
"Yerim and I are from the sa agency, and she said she’d cook for ."
That explained it.
As he walked toward the kitchen, he saw Yerim calmly preparing food, completely unbothered by the situation.
"Yerim, I’ll take over cooking today."
"Huh?"
"It doesn’t feel right to keep letting you cook for . This is perfect timing."
His mind raced to find the best solution in the mont.
"There’s no way I can eat the food Yerim makes in front of Sujin. That’s a disaster waiting to happen."
But it felt wrong to tell Yerim not to cook after she went out of her way to bring groceries.
"The right move is to preserve both their dignity."
He approached Yerim, gently removing her apron and placing his hands over hers to take the cooking tools away.
"I was planning to cook today anyway, so this works out. There are more people here too."
"Oh... okay."
Yerim nodded and shuffled to the table.
"I usually eat light in the morning, so I’ll make tofu and at patties. That okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Sujin, you okay with that? I’ll also grill so mushrooms. Anything you can’t eat?"
"Oh, uh... no, I’m fine."
"Great. Just sit tight—I’ll whip it up in no ti."
Both girls sat at the table, Sujin still stunned by the unfolding events.
"Phew, at least no one got too upset."
He exhaled in relief.
Ding!
A text popped up on his phone.
-[ ദ്ദി˙∇˙)ว ]
-[Practice for the future!]
It was a ssage from Sims.
"…Are you complinting for handling this well?"
Thanks, Sims.
"But what’s this ‘practice for the future’ supposed to an?"
He couldn’t make sense of the cryptic ssage.
Living an uneventful life, in many ways, was a true blessing.
It ant you could enjoy peaceful days without trouble.
Perhaps that’s why I found myself relishing a laid-back routine.
"Only two hours of exercise a day—this is nice."
I felt rejuvenated, energized even, as I glanced at the calendar.
Mid-June.
Ti had flown by in the blink of an eye. The movie was starting to take shape, and the pieces were falling into place.
It was during this calm that I unexpectedly received a script.
"Uh... what’s this?"
"Hmm? Why? Don’t like it?"
"No, it’s not that… but I don’t think I’ll do it."
"Really? The investnt for this is over 20 billion won—it’s going to be massive."
Seokho-hyung’s words were t with a shrug from .
"This is sothing I absolutely shouldn’t take."
It was so bad that if anyone around considered taking it, I’d do everything in my power to stop them.
For the first ti in my life, I was seeing a rating like this:
The Tale of Steel, F.
What kind of failure warranted an F rating? It was terrifying to think about.
Kim Donghu had earned a reputation as a box-office guarantee.
Because of that, there was no shortage of offers—from dramas to films to variety shows. Everyone wanted him.
But—
"Don’t you think Donghu’s pretty picky with his projects?"
"Huh?"
At so point, rumors started circulating.
"Donghu’s like so sort of flop detector."
"What’s that supposed to an?"
"I heard he turned down The Tale of Steel."
"He turned that down? That director’s a legend!"
"Yeah, and now the atmosphere’s tense. The director even went to see Donghu personally."
A flop detector.
A talent for picking only the projects that would succeed.
Not being chosen by him ant—
"So you’re saying my movie is going to fail? Where’s Kim Donghu? I’ll convince him! He just doesn’t understand this movie’s brilliance!"
It ant the movie would flop.
Unable to accept that fact, the director of The Tale of Steel, Kim Jihoon, made his way to Veritas, Kim Donghu’s agency.
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